Sports memorabilia are items that are signed by an athlete and the signature is authenticated by a reliable source. Sports collectibles are unsigned sports items or those signed by not authenticated.

Kids love sports and they also love to hoard things so collecting sports memorabilia is a great hobby for them.  If you look around your house you probably already have the beginnings of a collection of sports memorabilia.  Think of the ticket stubs, magazines, jerseys, shirts and pictures of favorite teams that you have collected over the years. 

Collecting sports memorabilia is a fun hobby, and most people do it for the sheer pleasure of it.  Those who collect memorabilia are usually sports enthusiasts.  They want to support their favorite team or sports superstar and they like to be surrounded by something that they love.  There are many people all over the world who have taken up this hobby to express their passion for sports, teams and athletes and to savor memories.  However, what many do not realize is that over the years this collection could turn into a great investment.  This hobby can however get costly so be sure to determine a budget and stick to it.

Sports memorabilia and collectibles include everything from autographs, posters,  photographs,  newspaper articles, industry magazine articles, books, ticket stubs, trading cards, rookie cards, programs, shirts, hats, action figures, baseballs, jerseys, football helmets, mascots, sports bobbleheads, or any other promotional materials. So as you can see your options of what to collect are limitless.  It is basically anything related to the sport or team that you feel is valuable.

The first step in starting this hobby is to select a theme that interests you.  It can be a broad topic like football, baseball, soccer, a specific team, a particular year, vintage collectibles or you can narrow it down to something specific like a particular athlete. Once you have decided on a theme you can begin to research it.  Remember that being well informed will allow you to make good decisions.  Make a wish list of things that you would like to collect.

Starting this hobby is as simple as visiting  trade shows, sports collectible auctions, sporting events, book stores, toy stores, online shops,  or any other event for getting collectibles. You will find a great selection of sports memorabilia at online retailers. Additional places to seek items would be on auction websites, at estate sales and collectors’ shows. Just be sure to do your homework, via the internet, so that you know the value of the item before you make a purchase.